Residents of the Dixie School District in northern San Rafael will be asked to approve an annual $470 parcel tax on an all-mail ballot slated for May 8.

The district’s board voted unanimously last week to put the matter before the voters then, said Brad Honsberger, the board’s president.

If the tax passes it will replace the district’s $352 annual parcel tax, which was due to expire June 30, 2019.

“It’s not something a district can afford to wait to the last second on,” said Superintendent Jason Yamashiro, regarding why the district is seeking renewal of the tax now.

“We’ve had a parcel tax in our district for nearly 30 years at this point,” Yamashiro said. “It represents around 10 percent of our budget. It is fundamental to our district’s ability to attract and retain high quality teachers, sustain class sizes, run our third-through-eighth grade music program, and support counseling and electives at the middle school. It’s a major component of how we operate.”

The district includes Miller Creek Middle School and three elementary schools: Mary E. Silveira, Dixie and Vallecito.

The proposed parcel tax would be in place for 12 years, and the measure calls for the tax to be increased 3 percent annually.

Yamashiro said the $118 increase in the tax largely represents the escalation in expenses since 2011. The previous tax had no cost of living escalator built into it.

The measure would affect 5,479 parcels and raise an estimated $2.6 million annually. Without the tax, the district would have to cut $1.9 million, or 8.5 percent, of its budget, requiring class size increases, cuts to academic programs and layoffs for teachers and school staff.

“It really does benefit everyone in the community to have strong schools whether you have children in the schools or not,” said Nicki Mullen, co-chair of the Dixie School District parcel tax committee. “It keeps our property values up and makes it a desirable place to be.”

“This funding will all stay local. It cannot go anywhere else,” Mullen said. “It is all going to be used by the Dixie School District for programs that directly benefit children. None of it is going to be used for administrative costs or buildings.”

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Mimi Willard, founder of the local Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, said her organization has not taken a position on the proposed parcel tax. But she said, “Use of special all-mail ballots is an unfortunate recent trend in Marin school parcel tax measures.

“Off-cycle elections have a lower turnout, which is typically comprised of the most motivated voters,” Willard said.

She noted that the Kentfield School District also has an all-mail special election planned for March 6.

In 2017-18, Marin residents will pay more than $207 million in parcel taxes, up about $10.9 million, or 5.6 percent, from 2016-17.

Honsberger, the Dixie school board president, said, “We hope that the people who return their ballots are the yes voters. That is for sure.”

Exemptions from the tax will be available to property owners 65 or older and to property owners who receive Supplemental Security Income for a disability or Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, if their income does not exceed 250 percent of the 2012 federal poverty guidelines.

Mullen said, “Most of all it’s just the right thing to do for our kids. Education is a long-term investment. The children who will be educated as a result of this parcel tax are going to be our future doctors and business owners and politicians.”